Chapter 15 Chapter Eight (1-1)

Liu Bucai arrived in the afternoon, because Cai Yuanji went to inspect the defense and did not meet until evening.Cai Yuanji was very polite as the host, and hosted a banquet in honor of Liu Bucai in the main hall of the Chen family garden.This hall is called "Huanbi Hall". It was the place where Emperor Gaozong stayed in the past. In the hall, there are also two plaques enshrined with blue ground and lacquered gold. "Pleasant Plum and Bamboo". Despite the hospitality of the host, Liu Bucai looked like he couldn't eat, which was mostly an act, to make Cai Yuanji feel that he was worried, and to foreshadow what he was about to say.

Cai Yuanji was also very embarrassed, so he delayed talking about it.After the formalities are over, the gossip of the exchange of greetings is exhausted, and the picture is poor but the dagger is seen, and finally I have to talk about the topic. "Master Cai, everything is settled. The Zuozhi Army not only asks you to lead troops, but also urges you to send troops to make meritorious service. Hangzhou's 'Ting Wang' is ready to dedicate the city—" "He!" Cai Yuanji asked anxiously, "Is that true?" "If I lie to you, heaven and earth will perish, and you will die in Haining." Liu Bucai deliberately made an air of haste, "He sent his clan brother Chen Dagui to join him. First connect with Suzhou, and Li Zhongcheng sent him to Zuozhi. The army. This is all I know of the situation, but it seems that the situation in Hangzhou will soon change greatly. Master Cai, you must not make mistakes, and you will make mistakes, and I will be in trouble."

"how?" "I saw and heard a lot of secrets in my stomach during this trip, such as the falsehood of the defenses of the officers and soldiers. So Jiang Fansi can't help but have the heart of a villain. He is afraid that I will be your spy here, and he will not I believe that you are really willing to surrender. I will take care of my family members. If there is no movement within three days, the rest of the family will be in prison for the New Year. Master Cai, I heard that you want to take it easy. This is not true. Bar?" Cai Yuanji remained silent.After a long time, he said to himself: "Chen Dagui! Did Chen Dagui really go overboard?"

"I was punished with a curse just now. If you don't believe me, there is only one way." Liu Bucai said with a bleak face: "Kill me! Please bring the body back to Wang Dusi. This will not only save my family, but also let Jiang The vassal knows that I am not a spy. Master Cai, let me tell you what is in my heart, I was born as a Qing person and died as a Qing ghost.To the country and to friends, I always use the word "loyalty". " "Words are serious! Words are serious!" Cai Yuanji said in awe, "It's easy to discuss." So Cai Yuanji pleaded guilty and got up to leave the table.Liu and Wang looked at each other in surprise and uncertainty, the huge hall surrounded by green jade looked eerie and terrifying.Liu Bucai took a breath and asked, "What do you think?"

"Probably discussed with his brother-in-law." "What does his uncle do?" "Naturally, he is also their general." Wang Xixun replied in a low voice, "I heard that Cai Yuanji is very afraid of him." "It looks like this, we have to subdue this person first." Liu Bucai asked, "Have you met him?" "I've seen it once. He looks very deep." "It's easy to deal with if you are deep." Liu Bucai gained confidence, "People who are deep can see through their interests and explain clearly, but they are afraid of being self-willed and unreasonable."

"Then, let's explain it, please talk about it together." Liu Bucai agreed with his method, taking advantage of this moment of waiting to make preparations.I caught a glimpse of a handsome young man on the corridor, and my heart moved. I guessed that it was Cai Yuanji's pony that Wang Xixun said had been bought for him. If you want to ask. First, they had a friendly chat, asking him his name, age, and place of origin.The pony is called Guifu, he claims to be from Suzhou, when he was seven years old, he was separated from his family when he fled and was taken in by Cai Yuanji, it has been eight years now.

"Is your 'prince' treating you well?" Liu Bucai asked. "Of course." "Where is the wife of 'Prince'?" Guifu shook his head and didn't answer, his face became ugly.Seeing his appearance, Liu Bucai understood in his heart that Guifu must be Cai Yuanji's child molester, and that he and Cai Yuanji's wife were equal to "rivals in love", so naturally they would not get along harmoniously. Thinking about this, he untied a small knife from his waist and handed it to Guifu, "Come on, it's the first time we meet, I don't have anything good to give you. You can keep this knife for fun." Liu Bucai said, "In the future I want to invite you, 'Princes', to go shopping in the Yichang in Shanghai, and then I will send you some novelty and interesting foreign goods."

Guifu's childlike innocence was still there, he took the exquisitely carved knife with a tooth handle, couldn't bear to put it down, and couldn't help but thank you with a smile. "Let me ask you something, your uncle is said to have a good temper, isn't he?" "Okay?" Guifu opened his dark eyes wide, curled his lips and said, "I don't know what's so good about it?" "how?" "I've never seen him smile. Unless—" Gui Fu clasped his hands together, "unless you see a big ingot." It turned out to be greedy for money!Liu Bucai already knew it in his heart. "What else?" He felt that there was no need to talk around the corner, and asked directly: "What else does he like?"

"A lot! Likes women, likes to gamble--gambling is the worst, no one likes to gamble with him." Hearing this, Liu Bucai was more confident. Seeing that Cai Yuanji had been away for a long time, he was afraid that when he came back and found Guifu here, he would be suspicious, which would be bad, so he nodded and said, "Okay. I I just want to ask you these two sentences. You please!" Then, he took out another coin from Ouchi from his purse and stuffed it into Guifu's hand as an extra reward. In fact, it is too much.Liu Bucai waited for a long time before he saw Cai Yuanji return to the table, followed by a thin and long man with sharp edges and bony eyes, his eyes seemed dull, but he couldn't hide the fact that he had gone through all kinds of rivers and lakes in the past few years. Liu Bucai, who has been taught three times, his eyes are deliberately concealing the light.Anyone who is good at "pretending to be a sheep and eating an elephant" has such a pair of eyes.

What caught Liu Bucai's attention the most was his attire, an old Ning silk fur robe, shiny and shiny, really like the so-called "spacious fur", but "spacious" is on the surface, not at all sloppy in the bones, rolled up. The cuffs, fluffy and fluffy, are fluffy and tall. It is a very precious white fox fur robe, which is more eye-catching against the green spotted finger on the thumb. The thumb covered with the spotted finger is yellowish with black in the middle, and the same is true for the index finger and middle finger.Liu Bucai understood that Guifu didn't mention one hobby of this person. He was addicted to opium, and those few fingers made the opium smoke yellow.

"Let me introduce you." Cai Yuanji pointed to the man and said, "It's my brother-in-law, surnamed Yang, Xing Er." Then he said Liu Bucai's name. "Ah, Second Brother Yang!" Liu Bucai scrambled to make friends, and bowed to the ground, "I've heard about Second Brother Yang for a long time, so it's a pleasure to meet you today." Yang Er also bowed his hands.It was the second time I met Wang Xixun, so there was no need to exchange greetings, I just waved my hand as a respectful gesture, and then sat down to accompany him. After a few superficial words, Yang Er asked: "We want to ask, where is Lord Liu, have you heard of me?" "In Shanghai." Liu Bucai made nonsense, "In Shanghai, I heard that the number one general in 'Tingwang' is Master Cai, and Master Cai relies entirely on Second Brother Yang for protection." The so-called "thousands of clothes, ten thousand clothes, no flattering", Yang Er heard his words, his donkey face with "no flesh" immediately became happy, "Don't dare, don't dare!" He said , "I'm afraid it's a misinformation." This attitude made Liu Bucai see through him completely.He is not loyal, he only knows the long hair of the "king of heaven", and he has no incomprehensible hostility towards the officers and soldiers.However, to oppose Cai Yuanji's surrender is just to make things difficult. Thinking of this now, Liu Bucai became more confident, and his attitude became more relaxed. He drank and ate meat, talked and laughed happily, and compared with the previous heavy expression, he looked like a different person. Cai Yuanji couldn't help being surprised, but as soon as his confusion appeared, Liu Bucai immediately understood, "Master Cai, you find it strange, don't you!" Liu Bucai said, "I took my life back. unhappy?" "This," Cai Yuanji asked, "how do you say it?" "With Second Brother Yang coming forward, the matter can definitely be negotiated successfully, and I won't be kind enough not to get a good reward. Shouldn't I be happy," "Here," Yang Er pointed to Liu Bucai and asked, "What are you talking about? I don't seem to hear clearly." "Didn't I talk to you just now? He came here with the determination to break the boat." "Yes." Liu Bucai said, "I didn't know that his guess was right until I got here. I seem to trust my friend too much. There is no need to say these things to him. In front of Second Brother Yang, it would be meaningless to say it." gone." These ambiguous and incomprehensible words, no one can understand, Yang Er can only guess a little meaning, Liu Bucai thinks highly of himself, and is very willing to make friends. At the same time, he also felt that Liu Bucai was a well-versed outsider who could be handed over to him, but he looked down on mediocrity who had no merits and skills. With such an idea, Yang Er wanted to show his strength and show his abilities everywhere, from Cheng Xueqi of the Huai Army to criticizing the dead Tan Shaoguang and Chen Bingwen, the recognized giant among the long-haired men, making them useless.It's just that he still maintains considerable respect for Li Xiucheng. Of course, there are some insights in his words.However, as the saying goes in Shanghai Yichang, "open your mouth and keep your mouth shut", once you talk too much, you will reveal your inner truth, and Liu Bucai will be overwhelmed by what is in his stomach. The dinner was full of gossip, Wang Xixun was anxious and said nothing, but Cai Yuanji couldn't help it, "Let's talk about 'that side'!" He deliberately raised his head, hoping to get back to business. "Not busy, not busy." Liu Bucai saw that Cai Yuanji, who was only twenty-six years old, was an honest man, so he made his own assertion, "I will think carefully when Second Brother Yang and I are leaning on the cigarette tray." So drunk and full of food, they "turned on the light" to talk. Yang Er and others had smoked sixteen tubes of opium, full of energy, and started to talk about business with a small colorful teapot from the Qianlong Kiln in their arms. "Brother Liu, how long are you doing?" "Line three." "That's Brother Liu San." Changing the address, Liu Bucai shrank back, arched his back, and put his head very close. Hearing Yang Er whisper, "We hit each other like old friends when we first met. I would like to ask, Brother Liu, what are you greedy for when you are so enthusiastic?" "Business!" Liu Bucai replied, "She's relative Zhu Guan is from Hangzhou. When Wang Zhongcheng was alive, he was the first-class celebrity in Zhejiang official circles. Have you always heard of him?" "I've heard of it. But the past is the past, and the present is the present." "Now it's up to you, brother. If you can persuade Lingqin, take the team over, and Sheqin Zhu Guan will count his military merits on this. Once the 'bao case' is up, he will still go back to the officialdom in Zhejiang. To be honest: just It's all his world! At that time, naturally you won't forget your brother." "Won't cross the river and tear down the bridge?" "What's the benefit of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge to give up your relatives. Now we are on the same boat, and even the Zuo Zhijun must rely on this." "Brother Liu San, what you said is quite true." Yang Er couldn't help but say the truth, "Some officers and soldiers, with a self-important look on their faces, devalued us to nothing. I don't accept it! Everyone is real! It’s a real gun, I’ve seen it before!” "According to this, Second Brother Yang, you probably think that I am the same person first?" "I won't talk about him here. Let me ask again: What if we don't go there?" "Then, I'm just afraid to watch other people's fun!" "How do you say that?" "It's like on the gambling table. Once you get on the 'road', you must make a bet. If you miss a bet, you will feel regretful, and you will be more cautious in your hands. You have to wait and see. As a result, the more you look, the more you can't make a bet, isn't it? Just watch other people's fun?" Hearing this, Yang Er's heart itch.However, this is using gambling as an analogy. After all, it is not a real bet, and a loss is not a loss of money, but a loss of property and life, so he has to suppress his chaotic and excited mood, and take a closer look to see if it is real. Are you on the "road"? What can't be erased is the shadow of Suzhou's murder. "Brother Liu," he can only ask: "You are your opinion, and the banker is the banker's opinion. It is clear that seeing is the way to survive, and the fun is fishing. We are with yours. The identities are different, and once you are hooked, you will never be able to escape again.” Liu Bucai nodded, and replied slowly: "Whether you are hooked or not, let's not talk about it for now. If you think you are a fish, then you should open your eyes and have a look. There are gaps on all sides of a pond." Let the water go. If the water runs out, the fish will die! You will be trapped to death, Second Brother Yang, don’t you want to be reconciled!” Yang Er didn't want to admit that he was in a pond that was about to dry up. "That fish," he asked, "if it rushed out of the gap, wouldn't the dragon go back to the sea and be free?" "Not necessarily. There is a net outside the gap." Liu Bucai had an idea, and immediately changed his words, "However, you are in a different situation from Lingqin. If you want to rush out of this gap, I can help you." "Oh!" Yang Er took a deep look, "How do you charge?" "The boat is just outside the seawall. This boat has the flag of Chang Jie's army, and the area under the jurisdiction of the officer and army is unimpeded. Wherever you want to go!" Without making a sound, Yang Er picked up the lampshade of the famous so-called "Taigu Lantern", which was carved from a single piece of crystal, and wiped it again and again with a handkerchief, very vigorously.This leisurely movement just showed the tension in his heart. Liu Bucai refused to miss the opportunity, and immediately said, "I'll think of a place for you. This place will allow you to live a comfortable life without wind or waves." "Yes, where is it? Shanghai?" "Shanghai, on Yichang!" Liu Bucai said, "There are a lot of long-haired people there now, especially those with savings in their hands. It's more comfortable to eat cold food every morning and Lantern Festival every night." "Don't all foreigners help the government?" This is to raise a question: foreigners help the government, and the government names people, so barbarians are not enough to become fugitives.Of course, if he didn't understand the situation of Yichang, Liu Bucai calmly stated, explaining the facts and reasons why the government's power could not reach Yichang.In Yang Er, he felt a sense of relief. "Liu Sange," Yang Er said after all, after all the barriers were removed, "listening to your words is better than reading for ten years. You opened two paths for us, and we decided to choose one. Please wait a moment, I will definitely I have a solid answer for you." "Okay!" Liu Bucai took his hand through the smoke lamp and said, "We are all 'foot to foot' friends, everything is easy to discuss." "I know." Yang Er replied, resolutely, "I bet!" His idea was that the whole family, including Cai Yuanji's family, would take the collected gold and pearls with them, and take Liu Bucai's boat to Shanghai that night, and spend the rest of their lives in Yichang as a comfortable nest. .However, Cai Yuanji was not like that. "What about the brothers under your command?" He said, "We can't just care about ourselves and ignore others. I just ask you one question: Can Liu be trusted, but not?" "Trust it." "That's good!" Cai Yuanji said resolutely, "I'm still young, and I still want to start a career, hide in the barren field and live a quiet and odorless life, I won't do it." Hearing this, Yang Er was quite surprised, because his brother-in-law always listened to what he said, what he said and what it was, and he didn't want to encounter such an important juncture, but he would make his own decisions, and his opinions were quite firm. "Second Brother," Cai Yuanji said again, "Everyone has his own aspirations, and we can't compete with each other. I decided to take my brother there. If you want to go to Shanghai, you can leave!" This is also a way, but since I belong to close relatives and share weal and woe, I can't say anything about being alone, so I stayed for a while and said: "I have to take a step back in doing things, but I have a way to get the best of both worlds, I will send my sister and nephew to Shanghai. When you go there, it will look at the situation, if you can get along, stay, which is naturally the best, otherwise, go back to Shanghai and wait for a while before talking." "Second brother, you really have wishful thinking with one hand and abacus with the other. Where in the world is there such a good plan?" Cai Yuanji smiled. "how?" "Don't think about it, tigers guard against people, people guard against tigers, we trust people, do they trust us?" Cai Yuanji lowered his voice and said, "If the family members don't go there, I'm afraid that the two guests who came will be the first to surrender." You have to be suspicious, what kind of tricks did Cai play? Could it be that he sent away his wife, children, old and young, so that he will have no worries, and is ready to open up and do something?" If you think about it in your own shoes, you will naturally feel that there is no doubt about it.Yang Er has no claim. "Second brother," Cai Yuanji slightly changed his mind, "I agree with you leaving. You have gotten used to it in the past two years, and you can become an official if you pass the vote. You can't bear the hardships in the military camp.Might as well get away now.Cunning Rabbit Three Caves, it is always a good thing for us and my wife that you can settle down in Shanghai. " "Okay! That's it." Yang Er said, "We have worked hard, and we must leave something behind. I will keep it for you." "This—" Cai Yuanji said, "you can only bring some soft things, but you can't bring silver." "Why?" Yang Er asked, "Could it be that you still want to honor the officers and soldiers?" "Neither is it. The brethren will be paid." "The officers and soldiers will pay, why bother?" "That's not the case. The Zuo Zhijun is no better than Li Zhongcheng, and his salary is insufficient. Even if he can get paid, he won't be able to get it for a while. Now that he has surrendered, everything must be for the sake of the overall situation." Yang Er thought to himself, if he was able to lead troops and pay, Zuo Zongtang would be favored, and it would have a lot to do with his brother-in-law's safety and future.I gave up the tens of thousands of taels of silver in vain, and even though I felt unwilling, I had no choice but to forget it.